Photographing in the former Soviet Union is a mystical experience. It feels like I am returning to the place of childhood dreams and fairy tales. This time, I'm the one recording the stories. The disappearing world of the 20th century is still intact in much of the former Soviet bloc and my journeys often feel like travel in time to a seemingly simpler world. Most of my travels have been through Ukraine. The people of this peaceful sprawling country are collectively holding their breath, waiting to join the EU or be overshadowed once more by Russia. There is a certain dark magic that rises from the very soil of this land. It is this magic that I hunt with my camera, in the huts of the gypsies and the shepherds' lean-tos and in the gestures of people in the streets.